Life After Longing
by MrsWyle
Summary: Sequel to 'Longing.' The kids get older and start causing trouble. Can Carter and Abby withstand the test of time? It's a stupid summery. Just read it.
1. Default Chapter

I stood outside the gym, tapping my foot on the sidewalk. Carter ran up to me, breathless. "Sorry I'm late," he panted. "Got held up at the hospital."  
  
I gave him a quick peck on the cheek and straightened his tie. "Annie is NOT happy about this," I said, heading towards the gym, where Annie's first school dance was about to start. Carter and I were chaperones.  
  
"Would you be?" Carter asked.  
  
Just then, Annie ran up to us. Her hair was up in a French twist and a few curls were bouncing around her face. She was wearing a little red dress with thin straps and matching red shoes. She looked like she'd stepped out of the 1940s. "If you guys embarrass me I will never forgive you," she said, under her breath. "Stay on the other side of the gym from me at all times and NO DANCING!"  
  
She ran off again to join her friends. I grinned at Carter. "She's so cute," I said.  
  
"Don't let her hear you say that," he said.  
  
*********************************  
  
"Come on, who is he?" We were standing in Annie's room and Carter was pestering Annie about the boy she'd danced with. "I have a right to know who my daughter is dancing with."  
  
Annie looked at me. "Mom," she pleaded. "Make him stop!"  
  
I pulled another bobby pin out of Annie's hair. "Actually, I'm with your dad," I said. "I wanna know all about this boy."  
  
"Well, I'll tell YOU," Annie said. "But not Dad. He'll get all protective and stuff."  
  
A hurt look flashed across Carter's face but he played it off. "Fine," he said. "But you know your mother will tell me later."  
  
Carter went into our bedroom and I helped Annie out of her dress. "So, tell," I prompted.  
  
Annie grinned. "His name's Ricky and he's in 8th grade. All the girls like him. He plays the violin and the guitar. He got into Weinberg because of the violin and took up the guitar two years ago."  
  
I sat down on Annie's bed and frowned. "8th grade?" I said. Annie was in 6th. "So he's 14."  
  
Annie rolled her eyes. "You're not getting protective, are you?"  
  
"No," I said. "I'm just making sure I have my facts straight."  
  
I stood up and kissed Annie on the head. "Don't tell Dad," she said.  
  
I sighed. "I won't tell him everything."  
  
Carter was eagerly awaiting my arrival in our bedroom. "What'd she say?" he asked.  
  
I unbuttoned my shirt. "His name is Ricky, he's really popular, and he plays the violin."  
  
"Is that all?"  
  
I smiled. "Pretty much," I said lightly. "What were you expecting? A criminal record?"  
  
Carter shook his head. "I just don't want her to fall victim to some evil guy who just wants her for sex."  
  
I laughed. "John, she's twelve!"  
  
"Yeah, but kids are becoming sexually active earlier and earlier."  
  
"She's not stupid. We've talked to her about this stuff. She understands." I climbed into bed. "She knows she can talk to us . . .well, me at least. She's afraid that you'll go all psycho or something," I giggled.  
  
"I'm glad you find it amusing that my daughter doesn't feel she can talk to me," Carter pouted.  
  
I rubbed his arm. "Well, just relax a little bit. Give her some slack. Step back and she'll come to you."  
  
Carter pouted. "When did you become such an expert?" he asked.  
  
"Since I was a teenager girl," I said, closing my eyes. 


	2. Bad Girl

I was giving Krissy a bath when Annie came into the bathroom. Abby was working a late shift so I was home with the kids. It was 6:00 and a frozen pizza cooking in the oven.  
  
"Hey, Dad?" Annie said. I turned around. Annie was wearing a short denim skirt and a light blue tank top that was a little too tight for my liking.  
  
"Yeah?" I said, lowering my eyebrows.  
  
"Um, can I go to the movies with a couple friends?" she asked.  
  
"Which movie and which friends?" I said, squirting some Johnson's Baby shampoo into my hand.  
  
"School of Rock with Margo, Todd, and Ricky," Annie said, pouting slightly, trying to convince me to let her go.  
  
"What time will you be home?"  
  
"Around nine?" Annie bit her lip. "Please, Daddy," she said. "Please." Great. Now I was Daddy. This kid sure knew how to suck up.  
  
I thought about what Abby had said about loosening the reins on Annie. "OK," I said. "But I want you to take my cell phone." I unhooked my phone from my belt and held it up. Annie reached out to take it but I didn't let it go right away. "Call me if ANYTHING goes wrong, OK?"  
  
"OK, OK," she said, grabbing the phone from me and skipping down the stairs.  
  
"And put a coat on!" I hollered after her. I rolled my eyes when she slammed the door.  
  
Kaden poked his head into the bathroom. "Where'd Annie go?" he asked.  
  
"Movies," I said.  
  
"Movies?" Kaden replied. "You told her she could go?"  
  
I looked up at him and I wrapped Krissy in a towel and lifted her onto the floor. "Yeah, why not?" I towel dried Krissy's hair and stood up, bring her with me.  
  
"Because Mom said she was grounded," Kaden said, heading back to his room.  
  
"WHAT!?" I screamed, following him.  
  
"Yeah, our report cards came today while you were at work. Annie failed math so Mom said she's grounded for a week so she can spend her time to do make-up work." Kaden sat down in front of the TV in his room and turned on his playstation.  
  
"Are you just making this up to get Annie in trouble?" I asked.  
  
He shook his head. "Call Mom if you want. She'll tell you."  
  
I took Krissy into her room and got her dress, and then I cut up the pizza. While Kaden and Krissy were eating, I called Abby.  
  
"Hey, is everything OK?" she asked.  
  
"Yeah," I said. "Um . . .did you by any chance tell Annie that she was grounded?"  
  
Abby sighed. "Yeah, I forgot to tell you. She failed math so she's grounded for a week."  
  
"Shit," I muttered. "I can't believe she . . .goddamn it."  
  
"Did you let her go out?" Abby asked.  
  
"Yeah, she went to the movies with some friends," I said.  
  
"Well, go get her!" Abby said. "And ground her for two weeks! I can't believe she would ask you when she knew that I . . ." Abby was interrupted by shouting. "I gotta go, John. I'll see you later."  
  
**********************************  
  
"I need you to get my daughter," I said to the manager of the movie theatre. "Annabelle Carter. She's in 'School of Rock.'"  
  
Krissy was squirming in my arms so I handed her to Kaden who was standing calmly beside me. "Sir," the manager said. "I can't just interrupt the film for one girl."  
  
"My daughter is not supposed to be here. She needs to come home right now. If you don't interrupt the movie, then I will," I said.  
  
The manager sighed. "What was the name?"  
  
"Annabelle Carter."  
  
Two minutes later the manager came back followed by a bright red Annabelle. I thanked the manager, slipped him a twenty, and led my children back to the car. We rode home in silence and when we got there I sent Kaden and Krissy to their rooms.  
  
Annie sat on the couch, her arms folded across her chest. "What do you have to say for yourself?" I asked, trying to stay calm.  
  
"I'm sorry?" Annie said, hoping that was the right answer.  
  
"Not good enough," I said. "It's bad enough that you went out when you knew you were grounded but you lied to me . . ."  
  
"I didn't lie!" Annie shouted. "I never said anything that wasn't true!"  
  
"Do NOT interrupt me!" I bellowed. Annie was stunned into silence. "Instead of one week, you are now grounded for two."  
  
"What? But Dad . . ."  
  
"No," I said firmly. "You break the rules, you get in trouble. That's how it goes. That's how it's always been. You need to start acting responsibly . . ."  
  
"I AM responsible," Annie said, standing up. "I made a mistake, that's all."  
  
"Damn right, you made a mistake. What's going on with you, Annie? First your report card and now this?"  
  
"I don't have to listen to this," Annie said, heading for the stairs.  
  
I grabbed her arm. "Yes, you do."  
  
She tried to pull away from me but I tightened my grip. "Dad, you're hurting me!" she shouted with tears in her eyes. I let go and saw a mark in the shape of my hand on her arm. "I hate you!" she screamed. "I hate you! I wish you were dead!" With that, she ran up the stairs and slammed her door. 


	3. Forgiveness

I arrived home to a dark and quiet house. I went upstairs and into Kaden's room. He'd fallen asleep in front of the TV. I turned it off and lifted him into his bed. I kissed him softly on the head and went into Krissy's room.  
  
The soft glow of her nightlight fell across her face. Her mouth was open and she was snoring . . . little tiny baby snores. I kiss her and moved on to Annie's room.  
  
Annie was sprawled across her bed, still in her clothes. I leaned forward to give her a kiss but something caught my eye. A sizeable bruise was forming on her right arm. I gently lifted her arm and saw that the bruise when all the way around, as if someone had grabbed her. Someone with large hands. I shook her shoulder. "Annie. Annie, wake up."  
  
She rolled over and looked at me. "Hi," she said.  
  
"What happened to your arm?"  
  
She looked at the bruise. "Nothing."  
  
"Annie," I pressed. "What happened? Did your father do this to you?"  
  
"He didn't mean to hurt my," she muttered.  
  
I closed my eyes. "Goddamn it."  
  
"Mom, just leave it," Annie said. "It's OK. He didn't mean it."  
  
I kissed her. "Go back to sleep."  
  
In our bedroom, Carter was fast asleep. I picked up a marble figurine from my dresser and hurled it at him. I struck his shoulder and he woke with a start. He looked from me to the figurine. "What you do that for?" he asked, rubbing his shoulder.  
  
"What did you do to Annie?" I hissed.  
  
"Nothing," he said, blinking sleepily. "I didn't do any-"  
  
"There's a huge bruise on her arm," I said, cutting him off.  
  
Carter closed his eyes, remembering. "I didn't mean to hurt her," he said. When his eyes reopened I could see that they were full of remorse. "I never . . .I never meant . . ." He couldn't fishing the sentence. He buried his face in his hands. I sat down on the bed and put my arms around him.  
  
"It's OK," I said. "Just make sure it never happens again."  
  
Carter looked at me. "It won't," he said firmly. "I can't believe I . . . she's gonna hate me."  
  
"She's not gonna hate you. You're her Daddy." I kissed him. "But you need to apologize to her."  
  
Carter nodded. "Do you think she's awake?"  
  
I laughed. "She's probably sitting right outside our door, listening to every word we're saying, and praying that we're not gonna get a divorce over this."  
  
We both looked at the door. It opened. "How did you know I was out there?" Annie asked. She's changed into an oversized nightshirt that hung down to her knees.  
  
I shrugged and smiled. Annie walked around the Carter's side of the bed. "I'm sorry, Daddy," she said, on the verge of tears.  
  
Carter put his arms around her and held her close. "I'm so sorry," he said. "I'm so sorry." They stayed like that for a minute until Carter kissed her head and said, "I love you so much, butter bean."  
  
Annie smiled. "I love you too."  
  
"Now get to bed," I said. "Tomorrow you start the pre-algebra workbook I bought you."  
  
Annie nodded, resigned to her fate. "OK. 'Night Mom. 'Night Dad."  
  
"She's a good kid," Carter said. "She could try a little hard, but overall she's a good kid." 


End file.
